An intimate look at how JRS impacted a former refugee's life through education

May 08, 2017

An intimate interview with a former refugee on how JRS
impacted his life through education

Star lighting up the dark tunnel – The purpose of education

Jean Pierre Ndagijimana was born to Rwandan refugee parents in
Congo. His family had been refugees since 1959. He grew up in numerous refugee
camps throughout the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Life in refugee camps wasn’t
easy, but they were protected and had food, shelter, security and health care.
They no longer had to starve or hide in the swamps and bushes. However, Jean
Pierre says that provision of these basic needs without education is incomplete.
This is where JRS came into his life offering providing education and hope for
his future.

Do
you remember your first experience with JRS?

Jean Pierre – I had first gone to school in the Congo where there was no JRS.I was actually too young to start school. I was
3 years old. My teacher required me to pass an admission test which was to
raise up my right hand and do my best to have my long finger touch my left ear
just from the top of my head. The test would tell if I was old enough to start
school. I failed the test, but I refused to leave
the classroom. He finally accepted me but I walked 25 kilometers each
day with no shoes, books, pens or a uniform.

Because of the violent tragedies in the region, I ended up in
several refugee camps where there was JRS. This is where my education really
started. I remember the pure joy I felt when I went to
the JRS office in the camp and was measured for my uniform and was given pens and
paper. I jumped for joy knowing I was going to learn.

What
was education like in the camp?

Jean Pierre - The JRS refugee education system included nursery, primary and
high school and vocational training programs. The churches supported our spirituality
and gave us hope. There were opportunities to study in public high schools with
the JRS full scholarship. The scholarship included tuition fees, beddings,
transportation, pocket money, and everything that could help us perform well,
regardless of our refugee status. Surprisingly, most of the time, refugees were
the best performers in the schools.

JRS was not simply an
organization for me, it was also my other family and were the only parents my
school knew about. I had to report my grades from school to the JRS office each
semester so they could keep track of how I was doing and visit me personally
once every three months.

How important is an education in refugee camps and how is JRS
contributing to that role?

Jean Pierre - Life in a refugee camp is like a dark tunnel, where your
eyes are always trying hard to open to see if there would be an end of the
tunnel. Parents believed their own and their children’s future was in hands of
their children’s education. Educational opportunities in refugee camps were the
only thing that guaranteed that my life would be better once I could settle
down in a community.

JRS school was also a safe space to avoid enormous dangerous
situations. Living in a camp is not always without risk. The JRS educational approach was meaningful and through informal
education, it supported numerous clubs in the camps including Anti-HIV/AIDS
clubs, Comedy and Theatre, Anti-Gender Based Violence clubs, Sports clubs and
Cultural clubs. I learned many lifesaving things at the JRS Multipurpose Hall.
The halls were a source of social support to the general community in refugee
camps.

How does
the education you received from JRS play a role in your life?

Jean Pierre - The JRS values created an educational
foundation and gave me support for my values and goals. I am currently a Research
Scholar and Visiting Global Fellow at the University of San Francisco (USF) in
both the Diversity Engagement and Community Outreach (DECO) and the University
Ministry programs. My focus on and off-campus centers around activities for
Social Justice with Solidarity in Action Programs which includes providing service
for homeless men and women in San Francisco.

Healing, education and the inspiration to be of service to the most
vulnerable is what I gained from JRS. The services I provided the last six
years in Rwanda before coming to San Francisco focused on helping people heal
from effects of extreme violence including the 1994 genocide against Tutsi in
Rwanda by helping people reunite and heal. Finding the core values that make up
our common ground is critical for a sustainable peace. I co-founded Talk
Recovery Training Rwanda with Jody Yeary PhD a project focused on stress
regulation training for health. Hopefully, I will be able to continue this
effort when I return to Rwanda.